The Fighting Irish are coming off a bye after hanging on to beat one of their rivals, the USC Trojans 30-27, the week before. The bye week should allow Notre Dame to get healthy and gives them extra time to game plan against another one of their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. Going into this week, the Wolverines are the last ranked opponent on the Fighting Irish remaining schedule. This game will be critical for the Notre Dame to prove that they deserve a playoff spot at the end of the college football season. They will be going into the “The Big House” in Ann Arbor, and it won’t be an easy task going against Michigan’s defense.